I got a little discouraged reading through this book because it seems like half the time I would see a recipe that sounded good, it required an ingredient that would require hunting around online for. Not that this is always a deal breaker, but I'm not very likely to plan far enough in advance to order the ingredient and then actually remember to make the recipe once it's delivered. I know this is part of keeping things authentic, but it still kinda bums me out.

I'm planning on making the black bean soup with the pickled onions this week, though. I can't remember if that recipe calls for epazote or not, but if it does, I'll just leave it out. I live right on the Mexican border and can't find that shiitake in regular grocery stores here that have large Latin American sections. There's a large Mexican grocery store nearby I could try, so maybe I'll find it there. I hate going there because it's always crazy busy, though, and their meat section is huge and scary.

A lot of things you can substitute! I don't always have epazote on hand and if you are cooking it with the beans just use a bay leaf. You can add some oregano too if you want. But it's not going to make a humongous difference.

I was at my local bookstore and broke down and bought this today. What a beautifully produced cookbook! I think the first recipe I am going to try is the Eggplant Shashuka with Green Tahini Sauce and serve it with the Middle Eastern Za'atar Flatbread. I tripped over the recipe looking for the Pastichio "Vegani" written about earlier on this thread. It looks seductively luscious.

My copy arrived today! It's really, really pretty! I'd encourage those who were put off by having more than one recipe on a page to take a look at the layout once it's available on Amazon or wherever, because I really think it doesn't matter that much. The print size is large enough to make everything easy to read.

I made my first recipe from this book the Masala Potato Soup and it came out great! The only change I would make next time would be to add greens to make it a more complete meal. The spiciness was perfect for us and the flavor was divine! So excited to cook my way through this one!

My copy arrived today! It's really, really pretty! I'd encourage those who were put off by having more than one recipe on a page to take a look at the layout once it's available on Amazon or wherever, because I really think it doesn't matter that much. The print size is large enough to make everything easy to read.

Yes this! I love the V'con but was apprehensive when people said VEW was laid out the same as I find hte layout/print sie in V'con a pain to cook from. VEW has much larger print, very user friendly.

_________________“Life is too important to be taken seriously.” - Oscar Wilde

I finally got mine yesterday and spent the evening reading the entire thing (and watching election coverage). It is a lovely book, I really like the layout and the print. I would like more pictures of the food but that is just my preference. The pictures that are included are just mouth watering. The problem is I have no idea what to start with first. Everything looks so good and there is so much I want to make - I just can't figure out what to start with.

I finally got mine yesterday and spent the evening reading the entire thing (and watching election coverage). It is a lovely book, I really like the layout and the print. I would like more pictures of the food but that is just my preference. The pictures that are included are just mouth watering. The problem is I have no idea what to start with first. Everything looks so good and there is so much I want to make - I just can't figure out what to start with.

+1 to your entire post. I read the entire thing. I want to make every single thing! I think I might go for one of the soups because it's supposed to get cold this week and they all sound amazing.

I made the coconut black-eyed pea curry today. It was delicious! I couldn't be bothered to mess with the food processor, so I just skipped the paste step. I also left out the cilantro, because I didn't have any (and I'm not really a fan of cilantro, anyway). I used a combination of black-eyed peas and kidney beans and served it over vegetable rice. This recipe is easy to make, rather quick and very tasty!

This week I made the red wine braised leeks and mushrooms and the roasted beet salad. The beet salad was delicious and very easy (basically peel and roast the beets and mix the dressing). The leeks and mushrooms were good, but I think I would cut the leeks smaller next time to make them easier to clean and easier to eat. Leaving them almost whole was a nice presentation, but they turned out chewier than I would have liked. (My husband really liked them, which isn't a surprise because he generally likes anything with a savory sauce).

Such an inspiring book! I've done 4 recipes so far and have 2 more planned for the weekend for a PPK potluck.

Mexican Dried Chile Salsa - after 15 min of soaking the toasted peppers the skins were pretty tough, even after going through the food processor. I ended up putting it in the Vitamix and it was still just okay. Two days later and now it is wonderful!! Made some boring ole tacos something special. The guajillo peppers weren't very spicy so I did end up adding some chipotle powder to it.

Last night I made the yogurt naan, eggplant shakshuka and the green tahini sauce. Amazing meal! The shakshuka was really something special! I knew it would be better if it sat around so I made it in the morning and by dinnertime the flavors were just magic.

This week I made the red wine braised leeks and mushrooms and the roasted beet salad. The beet salad was delicious and very easy (basically peel and roast the beets and mix the dressing). The leeks and mushrooms were good, but I think I would cut the leeks smaller next time to make them easier to clean and easier to eat. Leaving them almost whole was a nice presentation, but they turned out chewier than I would have liked. (My husband really liked them, which isn't a surprise because he generally likes anything with a savory sauce).

Teehee, I gave that exact feedback on the leeks and mushrooms when I tested it!

I made the quinoa salad with chickpeas, dates, pistachios, and spinach last night (I don't have the cookbook in front of me so I don't know the official name). It was really great and filling and I couldn't believe how fast it came together. Super quick weeknight meal.

I'm not much of a baker so can anyone who has this book advise me? For the walnut sticky spice cake it says use a 9x13x2 inch metal baking pan or a 9 inch springform pan. Does that mean a round 9 inch pan or would it be square? I don't have a huge baking pan collection and I don't really want to buy, but I will if I have to.

I'm making the Greek meal menu from the book tomorrow for an omni visitor, so I'll report back.

I'm not much of a baker so can anyone who has this book advise me? For the walnut sticky spice cake it says use a 9x13x2 inch metal baking pan or a 9 inch springform pan. Does that mean a round 9 inch pan or would it be square? I don't have a huge baking pan collection and I don't really want to buy, but I will if I have to.

A springform pan is a pan with removable bottom, so (usually) round. Either would probably work. Pan size isn't usually that important as long as it's roughly the right size. About 4 qt total volume.

Last edited by fruitbat on Thu Nov 08, 2012 2:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I'm not much of a baker so can anyone who has this book advise me? For the walnut sticky spice cake it says use a 9x13x2 inch metal baking pan or a 9 inch springform pan. Does that mean a round 9 inch pan or would it be square? I don't have a huge baking pan collection and I don't really want to buy, but I will if I have to.

I'm making the Greek meal menu from the book tomorrow for an omni visitor, so I'll report back.

The 9" springform would be round and a bit deeper than a standard cake pan. Let us know how it comes out!

The 9 inch springform should be round (since a round shape with a diameter of 9" has a larger surface than a square 9" pan). A springless round 9 inch pan will probably also work.

I don't think that is correct. A 9" X 9" square pan has 81 square inches whereas a 9"X9" round pan has only 69 square inches. Where a 9"X13" pan has 117 square inches, it is my bet that in the size pan one can use in making the Sticky Rice Cake is VERY flexible.